Theresa May slams call for beggars to be removed from Windsor ahead of the royal wedding

Theresa May has joined homelessness charities in criticising comments made by a Conservative council leader, who said beggars should be cleared from the streets of Windsor ahead of the royal wedding in May.

In a letter sent to Thames Valley Police and the crime commissioner this week, Councillor Simon Dudley, from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, said begging created a 'hostile atmosphere' for residents and the millions of tourists who visit the town each year. 'The whole situation also presents a beautiful town in a sadly unfavourable light,' he wrote.

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Council leader Simon Dudley

During a visit to a hospital in Camberley, the prime minister said she disagreed with the comments made by Dudley.

'I don't agree with the comments that the leader of the council has made,' May said, Sky News reports.

'I think it is important that councils work hard to ensure that they are providing accommodation for those people who are homeless.

'And where there are issues of people who are aggressively begging on the streets then it's important that councils work with the police to deal with that aggressive begging.'

Murphy James, manager of the Windsor Homeless Project, was one of the first to express his outrage over the comments.

'It's absolutely abhorrent that anybody has got these views in this day and age, especially a lead councillor of the borough,' James told the BBC.

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'If somebody is sleeping out on the street they are not there by choice, they are there because something has gone wrong.'

Windsor high street

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The letter followed tweets posted by Dudley in December, in which he wrote about 'an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy in Windsor'. He added that he would be asking the police and the crime commissioner (PCC) to 'focus on dealing with this before the royal wedding'.

Dudley's letter, dated 2 January, praises the Royal Borough's efforts in 'providing emergency accommodation to all those individuals who are homeless during the significant cold spell this winter.'

However, he goes on to say that there's evidence to show 'a large number of adults that are begging in Windsor are not in fact homeless, and if they are homeless they are choosing to reject all support services to beg on the streets of Windsor.'

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in May

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He also raises his concerns over 'the quantities of bags and detritus that those begging are accumulating and leaving on our pavements, at times unattended, thus presenting a security risk'.

Dudley suggests that there are 'a range of measures available' for the police to take action, including enforcing current laws on vagrancy or the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Charities supporting the homeless have said that punishment is not the answer.

'People sleeping on the street don't do so through choice – they are often at their lowest point, struggling with a range of complex problems and needs and they are extremely vulnerable, at risk from cold weather, illness and even violence,' Greg Beales, of Shelter, told Prima. 'They desperately need our help, support and advice to move off the streets into safety and, eventually, into a home. Stigmatizing or punishing them is totally counter-productive.'

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Paul Noblet, Head of Public Affairs at Centrepoint, a homelessness charity of which Prince William is a patron, added: 'Begging and rough sleeping are two distinct issues, and it is not helpful to conflate the two.

'The best way to help rough sleepers is to get them off the streets and into an environment where they can access the long-term support they need.'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 19 May. VisitBritain estimates that 41.7 million tourists are expected to visit the U.K. throughout 2018.